Review Malaysia Nyonya Restaurant - Howick

Malaysia Nyonya has such a great selection of vegetarian dishes on their menu, the Nestum prawns were amazing! On my first visit, I was a bit worried after reading all the negative reviews, but from my experience the owner was nothing but incredibly friendly and hospitable, some of the best service I've ever had. I even visited again a month later and received an even warmer welcome. Would definitely recommend to everyone.

Service was good and food was tasty and good bar the hainanese chicken which was a bit tough and the Assam fish that lacked spiciness, sweetness and sourness. Salted eggplant, tofu and nestum prawns were a hit though. Overall on the pricier side for malaysian food too.

Food was good. Service quality inconsistent. Owner(?) forgot one of our dishes, then told us we did not order it, even though she mentioned the dish on her previous visit to the table.

If you are planning to come here try to pre-order the golden pillow, chicken curry covered in golden bread. Otherwise the other items on the menu is quite nice. Delicious food that isn't expensive.

It's a long way for us but the vegetarian golden pillow is unique and worth the trouble. Requires pre order.

Amazing atmosphere, the best food ever, so fresh and delicious every time! The lovely owner is the kindest lady we have ever met and is always so happy to see us! We love this restaurant and come weekly! Happy to eat here again.. 😍

Homemade fried tofu and sambal kangkong so goooooooddddddd!!!!! Steamed chicken is their signature, not bad.

Delicious and authentic! The homemade tofu and salted fish eggplant were our highlights. Seemed to be struggling with staffing but waitresses were lovely and clearly doing their best. Thank you for the taste of home! Will definitely be back when we next visit Auckland.

I have been coming here for years and it never disappoints! The food is always delicious + full of flavour. I recommend pre ordering a golden pillow which is a curry cooked within a bread loaf. You don't come here for the service or surroundings, you come for the food. And it's always good

Awesome food. Make sure to make a reservation as it gets quite busy. You gotta try that "pillow" though

We came for a dinner with friends and we all had an amazing and lovely meal! Great options for vegetarians and vegans. For non-vegetarians, the duck was delicious and is highly recommended. I had the curry laksa which was delicious and hearty. Anna and Alice were so friendly and we felt very welcome in their restaurant! 🥰

We came on the recommendation of a friend. Really pleased that we did. The special vegetarian eggplant with a family handed down sauce recipe is to die for. Apple glazed pork chops was sizzling hot and delicious. The golden pillow chicken curry was so unique with the bread made out of non-instant yeast the traditional way. Very friendly family service in a relaxed ambiance. We will definately be back.

Malaysian- Chinese restaurant. All Nyonya style dishes are served here.

Here's a place that locals in Howick, especially the Asian community have been waxing lyrical about and I have only recently discovered. <br/><br/>Malaysian owned, this restaurant serves their version of Nonya cuisine which probably is the closest to the real thing that you can find, all the way here in Auckland. <br/><br/>We were introduced to it when we were at a party and asked where we could find the best chicken rice. Our idea of the best is probably a plate of kampong chicken steamed in soya sauce, ginger and garlic so that the skin is silky smooth, delicately puling away from the meat and you can taste the sauce infused into the soft succulent meat and where the rice is not clumpy but fragrant and you can see each grain almost separately. Tall order? Well, this restaurant serves up a pretty good version of this dish. <br/><br/>What I liked: <br/><br/>1.The staff were friendly and yes, I am pretty sure they were mostly Malaysians. They made good recommendations based on what we wanted to eat and on portions so that we did not over order, like we Singaporeans always tend to do.<br/><br/>2.We had a variety of dishes - the Chicken rice as described above was a must-have. <br/>The Tofu was delicious - crispy on the outside and silky soft inside with a sauce that went really well with the dish. I have missed Morning Glory fried in sambal and here they did an excellent version of this. We ordered Sweet and Sour Pork that came with mixed capsicum and onions and pineapple and a deep fried Ngor Hiang which was quite meaty as it had chunks of probably pork and water chestnuts inside. <br/><br/>3.Order the chicken rice rather than the regular thing if you want to enjoy extra flavour to your meal. <br/><br/>4. I am pretty sure that there were other Nonya dishes there (they seemed more Nonya style and inspired by Straits cuisine recipes rather than specific items that you order at a specialty Nonya restaurant - eg the menu offered Nonya Rendang, Nonya Duck Curry, Fried Rice etc). What we ordered was pretty much what our party of 3 wanted to eat that day so we will have to come back another day for a proper review of the specific Nonya items on the menu. They also have a full vegetarian menu. See the link to the website that I have provided in this review for the full menu. <br/><br/>5.You can BYO here for an additional $2 a bottle which we appreciated very much. <br/><br/>6.The place is just behind the usual venue for the weekend Howick Village market along Picton Street so there is lots of free parking available. <br/><br/>The place to go when you get those cravings for something Asian and local.<br/><br/>

Beef on rice, ginger, spring onion beef,hainanese chicken rice

I would rate less if possible. Been here many times as the food WAS quite good. But after todays experience we will never go back<br/><br/>1. The boss comes up with two dish and ask which one is ours. Very unprofessional <br/>2. Charges $2.50 for chilli soy sauce. None other restaurant does this. 100% assure you.<br/>3. The boss ignores us when we were given the wrong dish<br/>4. The boss was scolding her waitress so hard she had tears in her eyes<br/>5. The food’s portion has a noticeable drop. The fried rice was so wet, it is an amateur’s mistake to make fried rice wet

I've tried the most tender chicken, never defrosted!

Typical Malaysian cuisine and great service provided by friendly lady boss☺️ Nice gathering place for a group of friends or family. Average price to enjoy delicious meal.

Love this place. It can be busy sometimes so you have to expect to wait something close to 20-30 mins for your first dish. My absolute favourite is the hainanese chicken rice and their tofu dish (don't know the name but it's a huge square of tofu with some super nice sauce on top and veges all around it). Not a fan of their lunch menu especially their curry laksa. With all due respect to the owners, it's probably one of the most lacklustre curry laksas I've tried. Will keep returning for their dinner menu though!

My first experience here was no where near as bad as my last experience. Food here is nice & comforting. First time I got the salt & pepper squid, salt & pepper prawns, tropical chicken & sambal spinach. <br/>Salt & pepper squid was great, salt & pepper prawns were a huge ripoff for the price, tropical chicken wasn’t what I was expecting it to be (marinated fried chicken with sweet chilli sauce) & the sambal spinach was really yum - can really taste the shrimp paste in this! The owner was so lovely to us and was always checking on our table and everybody else which was lovely. <br/>My last experience here however.. I had called earlier to book a table and to also order Hainanese chicken as this needs to be ordered in advanced. It was super busy when we got there which is understandable to wait a bit for your order to be taken, but not 30 minutes. I had called the workers twice to see if my order could be taken and I got ignored or got told to hang on. This really bothered me because I was watching the workers throughout this time and they weren’t doing much but pacing around or doing small things when an order could have been taken in 1 minute. A worker finally came to me only to tell me that they aren’t sure if they will have enough Hainan chicken even though I pre-ordered it? <br/>Super disappointed, I decided to leave to another restaurant. I have noticed that they cater more to big groups but shouldn’t mean that other customers should be pushed behind. Don’t think I will come back here again sadly

Forgot to take photos and only took a photo of the desert but the food was fantastic however the customer service wasn’t. Everything was fine and platter served was in big proportions however servers seemed confused and ignored us when we kept calling out etc. we were celebrating a birthday and people had to keep raising their hands for a long time whilst servers just looked and did something else, and there seems to be a language barrier but otherwise everything is good. (we were a massive group 10+ and the space is very cramped so we could not simply leave the table without disturbing other customers or other people)

Im sorry to say that the staff is not very accommodating on the phone. I think she is the owner/manager. Very rude. I was asking if they honour entertaiment discount, and she answers only for dine in only, but coupon said dine in / takeaway, and she said not our policy you need to ask entertaiment. But this is what they have agreed with entertaiment. I am not impressed. <br/>I will not go this restaurant ever again. I cannot reccommend this.<br/>

Waited 30mins for our order to be taken. Owner consistently screaming at her staff blaming her staffs for mistakes been made. The food alright but the customer service is very poor. The owner needs to go on a management course the way she speaks to her staff and customers is very poor

Ordered the Hainanese chicken with the rice, sambal prawns and the assam fish. The prawns were amazing, as was the chicken and the rice was so aromatic it was beautiful. The fish was nice but I wouldn’t rave about it. Would probably try their curries next time! Prices were a bit high and they were very busy even on a week night so it took awhile for the food to arrive. We pre ordered the chicken and made it clear we wanted the rice but it turned out the rice couldn’t be pre ordered so we had to have white rice in the meantime and wait for the aromatic rice. There should be a better system, it’d make sense for both to be pre ordered at the same time. Otherwise the food was pretty up to par.

Good solid Malaysian food. A little bit pricey but real nice food! <br/><br/>My only thing was they have food and drinks on the menu that aren’t available to buy. We got told “sorry that isn’t available” for a few of the drinks. That may have just been the case for this night. <br/><br/>All in all - had a nice night - semi fast service, they were polite. <br/><br/>I’d probably go here again with a group.

We came here for family gathering and we all enjoy not just the food also the service especially the owner. Most of the dishes that we ordered were recommended by her and they just beautiful! Another happy customers!

Hands down favourite vegan restaurant. Tastes like home, authentic Chinese food but all vegan. The prawns and fish taste and look so much like the real thing. The hainanese chicken needs to be booked in advance but comes with complimentary vegan chicken rice, which was so delightful. They have a dedicated kitchen for cooking vegan food. Take your meat eaters here, they will be sure to enjoy it!<br/>

My family and I were visiting from Melbourne and had dinner with friends at this amazing restaurant. Being Malaysian and also having eaten at some great Malaysian restaurants in Melbourne - this place definitely is up there! The prawns and hainanese chicken was spot on and the service was super friendly. Would highly recommend this place!

Pre-ordered the special dish as required a day prior.<br/>Arrived right on time on the day and our table was given to another customer so we had to wait further 15mins to get to our table!<br/>Then, after an hour’s wait with nothing is being served, one of the staff members walked up and told us that the pre-ordered curry bun was mistakenly served to another table! All they said was if we could change to another dish with no compensation but free up some chicken satay skewers and $10 off for the next time visit. <br/>I rest assure you there WILL NOT be a next time<br/>Poor attitude with the worse service ever at a restaurant

I would say this was one of the worst dining experience ever (if only there is a negative star rating on here).<br/><br/>First of all, We arrived on time on the booking time and was looking forward to the specialty dish we have reserved, pillow curry bun. A staff there then informed us they have given our table away already so we had no choice by wait for another table which was smaller and more cramped.<br/><br/>Once seated, we waited for more than an hour for our food to arrive. During the wait, owner pushed one of her staff to come and tell us they have made a mistake with the orders and served our reserved dish to another table. At that point, the staff DID NOT offer any compensation, and instead asked if we wanted to order something else (the staff did not have the power to offer anything else really). We politely declined. Fairly disappointed that the owner did not come personally to explain the situation to us.<br/><br/>After a dismal sevice experience and while we were paying the bill, the owner mentioned that she could offer us a $10 discount next time we dine again (due to her losing money already for given the bun we ordered away, plus aparaently one of her staff cried due to the events of tonight), as if it was our fault.... we felt as if our respect for their reataurest had been abused.<br/><br/>Safe to say WE WOULD NOT RETURN TO DINE, EVER AGAIN… take heed to this review guys.<br/>

Very bad customer experience.<br/>Waited for more than an hour for our food which was ridiculous.<br/>Owner had a bad attitude and did not try to rectify the situation but blame things on her staff.<br/>Will not return ever again. <br/>

Dried Butter Prawn A MUST Try!!<br/>Kids love their Hainan chicken & special tofu.<br/><br/>#zomato is giving me hard time to get the 140 characters before I can place my review.

Anna did their catering with our company and it was REMARKABLE. I ate their Chicken and Potato curry and Satay Chicken sticks and I WAS BLOWN AWAY. So much flavour, tanginess and incredible. Other Malaysian restaurants we're a rip off with their price. But this place has fantastic PRICING AND QUANTITY. Everyone LOVED it. We ordered a lot more and it was all amazing. Anna takes a lot of pride in their quality of food and I see why. Their packaging, quality, taste and quantity exceeded our expectations. BRILLIANT JOB! PLEASE KEEP UP THE GREAT CHICKEN CURRY!

We had dinner here last night.<br/><br/>We ordered nyonya asam snapper fish, fried tofu (beancurd) in sizzling plate, stir fried kangkung (water morning glory) with belacan (fermented shrimp paste), hainanese steamed chicken with chicken rice, golden pillow chicken curry (chicken rendang placed in aluminium foil, and wrapped with their home made bread).<br/><br/>The golden pillow chicken curry and the fried tofu in sizzling plate tasted average, whereas the other dishes tasted below average. The so-called nyonya asam fish tasted like an ordinary deep fried fish being smothered with some sort of tasteless tomato sauce. There wasn't any taste of asam (tamarind) sauce nor nyonya chilli taste at all. The asam sauce serves to give the dish a tingling sourish taste, whereas the nyonya chilli sauce is meant to elevate the taste of the dish with an appetizing spicy relish.<br/><br/>In fact, I noted that almost all of the dishes offered in the menu were not really nyonya cuisines, they were more like ordinary Malaysian Chinese dishes.<br/><br/>The lady owner was very friendly, helpful and courteous. The place was very clean, neat, cosy and brightly lit. The washroom was sparkly clean too. Another plus point is that the prices were very reasonable, for instance, the hainanese steamed chicken was the whole chicken, boneless too, priced at $30 only.<br/><br/>There were about four to five tables of customers including our table. We waited for nearly an hour for our foods to be served. Quite a long waiting time, probably they were short handed in the kitchen.<br/><br/>Food & Beverage : 4/10<br/>Service : 8/10<br/>Price : 8/10<br/>Ambience : 8/10<br/>

Great food and very decent portion sizes. Staff are super friendly and make you feel very welcome, are really accommodating and were more than happy to explain the dishes we weren't familiar with. :)

Great food Great service a real hidden gem downstairs hidden away. 2nd time here and will come back again prices are very reasonable and portions are perfect.

The food was extremely tasty today. I especially like their deep fried prawn with wheat and their beef rendang. Nice quantity, will definitely come again 9 out of 11.

Malaysia Nyonya used to be one of my favorite restaurants in Howick, until years ago when it's food suddenly went downhill & the owner didn't seem to have the initiative to boost it back up.  Since then many Chinese cuisinières tried to take over but in vain.  After all these years, probably about 10 years, we heard that it is much improved. So there we were today, at a place we missed.<br/>We pre-ordered the "golden pillow" (curry chicken wrapped in a  bread dough). Together with Tom Yum soup, butter prawns, stir-fried green beans & Char Kway Teow, it was quite enough for 4 people. The golden pillow was very nice with crispy skin loaf; curry chicken was rich in taste. The veggie was above average. But the soup was thin & the squids in Char Kway Teow were bland. The dish I didn't like was the one with prawns - which were probably unfresh, and could better be served shelled.<br/>(Food - 3.5/5; Service - 3/5; Ambience - 3/5)<br/>Visited on 2 June 2018

Excellent mee goreng and hainam chicken rice! Service was good by the lady boss! The restaurant just needed a light renovation due to it is in a basement and kind of dark but hey! Food is good service is acceptable!

The cozy and amazing place that serve authentic Malaysia food. Finally I found the best mee curry laksa in Auckland and as well I love the mee goreng so delicious 😊<br/><br/>#Malaysiafood<br/>#delicious

Food not up to mark, bland rubbery noodles. Asked for 'no pork' but dish came with pork sausages. Owner argued that it was not pork but pork sausages??!! Charged full price for dish I returned.

I came to eat here with my family and we ordered a few dishes to share. The Mee Goreng and green beans stir fry with anchovy and peanuts were delicious! Will definitely try the Hainanese Chicken next time because it seemed to be a popular dish being ordered. <br/><br/>It was quite busy and the service was very slow but the staff later apologised and said it was because they were understaffed for the night. Overall it wasn’t a bad experience and the staff were friendly and well mannered.

Such an amazing place, great people and delicious food, so many good vegetarian options as well. Definitely recommend them, I go very often including for takeaway lunches.

Lady who runs the place is so friendly! The hainanese chicken is sooo good so tasty and moist probably the best in auckland. Real good authentic Malaysian 🤗

Found this place when I was pokemon hunting in the area and decided to finally try it today. I only ordered take aways so I didnt eat in the restaurant. I ordered the curry chicken since it was apparently popular. I also got the nasi goreng and the sweet and sour pork. Among the three, I personally liked the nasi goreng the most. My boyfriend liked the sweet and sour pork the most. I would give it a 3.7/5. It was pretty bland but otherwise okay. We feel we didnt get our money's worth however since it was pretty pricey for bland food. Will try their hainanese chicken lunch special and then give another think on how much stars I'll give it.

Lovely food excellent service.. friendly staff very helpful. Loved it. Value for money. Their golden pillow curry fish is superb. The owner Anna came and chatted with us for sometime. She made us really comfortable

Tried their fish noodles soup and roti with curry chicken, taste pretty good and lovely. Curry is thick and full of spices.<br/><br/>Went second time with order of fried rice and noodles each. Dishes came out alright yet quite oily.<br/><br/>Waitresses are absolutely very friendly and helpful.<br/><br/>Interior of the restaurant require bit of work as it looks aged and quite warm during summer.<br/><br/>Would like to try different dishes if going Howick again :)

Terrible service,  and waited for over an hour for food which is extremely slow. Food was still reasonable but wasn't very professional for Malaysian food. Possibly because of the new owner, because I really enjoyed dining in this place before. PS: ESPECIALLY DON'T GO ON WEEKENDS, IT'LL BE EVEN SLOWER

What a disappointment​! Change of owner is one thing, this is no way malaysian cuisine.<br/>~ 2 hours of wait<br/>~ hair in the first dish<br/>~ prawn still has the thick black line, which is a BIG NO in Asian food...<br/>~ Poor taste<br/>~ Inexperience staff<br/>Sigh... Used to love this place. Sorry to see it got so low...

Ordered 4 dishes... only serve 2 dishes after an hour. Half an hour later they serve the third dish which has no flavour at all and only after half an hour they serve the last dish. Only when we paid they explain that they had to go buy the prawns for the last dish. They should have explain it from the beginning and not let us wait for so long for our meal. <br/>4 dishes took us more than 2 hours to finish.

New chefs and management as of Oct-2017. Very generous portions, at a reasonable price. Flavours were good and more or less authentic. Service needs improvement - other tables that ordered after us got served first (same dish that we ordered); our dishes did not arrive together - by the time the last dish arrived others were more than halfway through their meal.

Ordered their golden pillow and hainanese chicken in advance. We phoned in at about 1pm for pick up at 5:30pm. Still had to wait another 20minutes before they were ready. I wonder if it is because of the new owner? We've always recieved our orders on time in the past...<br/><br/>The chefs haven't changed, but it's a good thing because the food is delicious. Hainanese chicken is tender and the sauce has just the right amount of sweet and savouriness.<br/><br/>The golden pillow is essentially a giant bread dough thing with chicken or beef curry inside. Chicken is still juicy despite being cooked for a long time and retains a lot of the flavour. Our family enjoys the bread dipped in the curry so we demolished everything. The beef version is just as good too.<br/><br/>Prices are a bit high but they really have good flavours so it's worth it once in a while.<br/>

A cosy restaurant that serve authentic Malaysia food. The lady boss is very friendly. The sambal balacan is very good. Price is also very reason set lunch come with wine.

This place is under new management and wow! What a delightful place. Great food, great service, would highly recommend! Would in particular recommend the chilli chicken dish, was a winner.

Delicious Chilli Chicken and Mi Goreng, fabulous service and authentic Malaysian atmosphere. Under new management who are clearly making changes that have made a real difference. Highly recommended.

The food at this place is good. But the service they provide is really bad and there is barely anyone at the restaurant. There is only one person as the waiting staff and he was not really friendly. He was also not checking on us frequently

Ordered a chicken laksa takeaway. Food was dull and flavorless.<br/>Person who served us was very rude and would not accept out money unless we provided as change as giving us $10 change was too much.Would not recommend

If you are planning to come here try to pre-order the golden pillow, chicken curry covered in golden bread. Otherwise the other items on the menu is quite nice. Delicious food that isn't expensive.

Had dinner here a week ago.  The restaurant was just an ordinary place but was comfortable as it was quite spacious.  The service was normal as expected but friendly. No problem with parking.  We ordered a couple of dishes.  They looked nothing very special but the taste was good.  We enjoyed the food.  If you are looking for nyonya food, this will be a good place to start with.

Pretty disappointed. I brought 6 or my friends here, we are all foodies and so were looking forward to trying this place.<br/><br/>Atmosphere:<br/>Not bad, music is modern, lighting is mood-set and the room between tables was comfortable.<br/><br/>Food:<br/>I had a chicken laksa, I have had a few laksa's around Auckland and this was one of the weakest ones. It felt like there was quite a lot of water added to it to make up the volume of the bowl. This may have been because the lunch menu is cheaper.<br/><br/>Price:<br/>Main was a good price for lunch, but I felt like the price was reflected in the quality of the dish. I had the chicken satay skewers for entree which was WAY over priced. $10 for 5 skewers, which was communicated on the menu, but the skewers were very thin on meat. <br/><br/>Service:<br/>Big wait between meals, and they forgot one, we had to ask for it. Our first meals were finished before we received the others. We had to ask for water. Our waiter was wearing very casual clothes and used short single words to request our orders, he didn't smile or acknowledge that he had heard our orders. My group overall was pretty unimpressed.<br/><br/>Had to pay all in one bill. Which was annoying for a lunch menu but it is what it is.

We tried this place out two weekends ago as recommended by a friend. This restaurant is located on a basement behind the ASB Bank in Howick. <br/><br/>The ambience is homely, yet, literally cold esp when customers leave the sliding door open when they leave. The dining experience could have been more enjoyable had it been warmer inside.<br/><br/>As per the said friend's recommendation, we ordered the Golden Pillow with Chicken Curry inside. The bread was tasty. I recommend you try this crispy-on-the-outside-piping-hot-on-the-inside parcel of goodness. It's available in chicken, beef, seafood, and vegetarian. But you have to ring them first and order in advance.<br/><br/>We also had the Fish Fillet with Chef's Special Sauce (the sauce was actually thousand island dressing). And I had Tom Yum soup to warm my tummy. My friend ordered Beef Rendang.<br/><br/>What we did not expect was the serving size of each dish. The portions they serve are probably intended for sharing. <br/><br/>The service was ok, at best. There were a few customers, but the only two persons serving were kept really busy--probably the reason why they always seem to be in a hurry.<br/><br/>Not really a place that I would go to often...except maybe when craving for something in their menu. :-)<br/>

Ate here with a friend a few weeks ago for lunch. We're big eaters and could not complain about the servings. Great value for money would recommend for a casual lunch with with family.

The food was not bad but the prices were relatively less affordable. I originally had wanted to get the nestum prawns but didn't get them in the end because they were overpriced and the portions were too big for two people. Would've enjoyed it more if portion was smaller and prices were more affordable.

Went here on a Friday night with 7 other ladies. The decor is fairly average but we found the staff to be very friendly. The food was nice and the staff made recommendations that helped as there is an extensive menu. The food was average. Not bad by any means but just nothing that would have me running back. It is BYO and the prices are reasonable. They allowed us to use 2 entertainment book vouchers which made the night extremely cheap.

Went here with the wife as fancied something different. We have lived in the area for over 8 years and never tried the place. Interior is nothing special but homely. We ordered a sweet and sour shredded chicken and sizzling steak in black bean. Both dishes were outstanding with rice. Staff were pleasant and I would recommend very highly unless you want something more modern and bright. For us both it was a very enjoyable visit and the prices were very reasonable. My wife is going with some friends this evening and I am ordering a take-out for me and teenage daughter.

Decided to come here for lunch one day just because we were in the neighbourhood. <br/><br/>The restaurant itself needs some work. It's dark, dingy and old looking. We decided to get the wa tan hor, the mango salad and the nasi lemak. Being an Indonesian, Id like to say that I'm quite familiar with the Malaysian cuisine and unfortunately this place did not represent Malaysian cuisine well at all.<br/><br/>The mango salad was basically just onions with slithers of overripe mangoes. The nasi lemak had average chicken and everything on the plate didn't look that appetising. The greenish coconut rice was a bit weird to me. The wa tan hor was bland. Only good thing about it was the prawns that were actually cooked nicely. <br/><br/>Overall, a below average experience and probably wouldn't come back again.

This place is honestly one of the best Malaysian places I've been to! I've been here a couple of times and it's never let me down. The fish head soup( I know it sounds gross) is delicious and the golden pillow curry is honestly the best thing ever 😋 it is quite hidden away from the Main Street of howick but it's definitely worth a visit <br/>

Worst service ever at this restaurant, slow, horrible attitude from the waitress which made the meal very unpleasant. Than when wanting take away boxes got grilled as why we wanted them...🤔I'm still not sure why??

Well, how bad can one get ??? We visited the restaurant for the first time on 7 Jan, evidently during the holiday season! We don't know if staff were on stand-by as the waitress was unhappy we didn't book (but only 3 other tables were occupied!)<br/><br/>We had seafood salad for entree; Baba Chicken Hot Fry, Assam Fish and Combination Tofu for mains.  The chicken came out barely warm, then the entree arrived.  It was hardly a seafood salad when it was sugar sweet with half wilted lettuces!! If you use the chicken and seafood salad as benchmark, the Fish tasted great, except it was not cooked in the middle.   As it was not meant for consumption as a raw dish, we informed the waitress, who was not happy with us (as we have eaten the fish!!) Tofu was the most decent of all.<br/><br/>Despite the uncooked fish, we were told we had to pay full price for it (as we have "touched" the fish.  I am yet to figure out how can you tell if a fish with spicy sauce was uncooked in the middle if you have not "touched" the fish!  This is appalling!  The chef reluctantly gave us 50% off for the uncooked fish! It bugs me why the 50%?? Perhaps the Council has a guideline on this??<br/><br/>We are extremely disappointed with the service provided and our meals.  We cannot understand the average 3 star rating!

Hmmm cheap eat for sure. Service was average. Food was umm hard to saw. The chilly chicken we ordered was really below average. The chicken was just too hard n lacked any flavour at all. Pretty meh kind of dish really. Sambal spinach was nice. Not for faint hearted who can't stand the smell of fish though. My first reaction was ohh boy this has that fish smell. But I still tried it n quite enjoyed it. Nicely wilted spinach with the juicy stems.

Very, very good Malaysian in a part of Auckland where good Malaysian restaurants are a little harder to come by. One of the best Laksas I've had in Auckland, little light on the vegetables but the soup part was incredible. <br/><br/>We also got talked into the golden beef pillow which was like a white bread loaf with a beef curry baked inside. The pillow part was sold to us like a kind of roti-style bread but it was more like Tip Top white bread, so not bad but not quite what we thought. Curry sauce was fantastic but the beef was chewy and not cooked long enough. Strangely not a huge drawback though, because the sauce was so good.<br/><br/>We also had samosas which were perfectly crispy but underseasoned. My dining partner had a chicken dish which she liked very much. The waitress was very friendly and made us feel comfortable. Food came out pretty fast too.<br/><br/>Overall, not Sri Pinang but still a very good experience, especially on this side of the city.

Think this could improve on its more traditional dishes. They have a plethora of choices (maybe too many), though could narrow down and improve authenticity. For example, the Golden Pillow used to be baked here, but now is just deep fried for efficiency (defeats the purpose of preordering such a classic dish then!). Other things like currys could have more spices and flavour, seems like all of them is peanut butter based... I do like the satay chickens though, nice and crispy, but can probably not serve the sauce cold.. The service is alright, but having one waitress may be ok when it's not busy. Overall, think there could be a lot improvements to the dishes.

When there last week with friend and families member we are 15 ppl of us, awesome place for gathering and good environment. Food was yummy delicious, especially the Golden pillow, four treasure bean, Asam fish, Nestum prawn and butter prawn.... Finger licking good. Staff were friendly and nice. Will be back again and again. <br/>

Fast service, Laksa was good quality. Used entertainment book so was pretty cheap. Roti were delicious and not overly oily which is often the case. Sambal chicken was pretty disappointing. Small portion and the taste of the sambal didn't jump out (in terms of flavour or spice).

I reviewed this restaurant just over a year ago and scored it a questionable 2.5, but after what seemed like another change in management I believe I have to retract a few of my statements concerning its food.<br/><br/>Recently, my family has, on two separate somewhat special occasions, pre-ordered the Hainanese chicken rice and the (beef) golden pillow from its dinner menu along with some other dishes on the night. These two were a hit, amongst us and our guests, and a few other dishes left us feeling a little bit impressed by their improvement of standard. I still can't say much about their rice and noodle dishes otherwise. The dinner menu is what we would recommend over the lighter lunch options.<br/><br/>Their staff are also friendly and happy to serve. No complaints there, but they have definitely improved since a year ago.

Dishes arrived with a  10 min wait between each one. My beef was mostly cabbage and the nasi goring was plentiful but lacked all sorts of other ingredients.  The pork was satisfactory. The entree choices we made of spring rolls and  samosas were directly out of a frozen packet.  We wont return.

Had been a customer for many years. Used to be good. But now it's just sooooo bad!!<br/>If i could give a score lower than 1, i would definitely choose that option.<br/>Extremely poor customer service!<br/>No body greeted us when we came in, fine. There were not enough chairs at our table, the waitress said just grab it from the next table, fine. We had no bowls, cutlery, tea cups, the waitress still refused to give us any and said, just grab it from the table next to u. The restaurant was half empty at that moment! But the waitress refused to serve us!???<br/><br/>Absolutely disappointing experience! <br/>Will not visit again.

LOVE the food from here, it is such a family favourite! Be sure to preorder their Golden Pillow and give it a go...tender meat in a delicious curry, enclosed inside a soft bread pastry. So tasty. Service is alright - nothing extraordinary but no faults either.

Went for lunch just after 11.30pm which is when they open. Walked downstairs into a dungeon wondering if the place was open or not. The waitress came out of hiding and flicked on the lights. We ordered 3 mains and an entree. The waitress told us that 1 of the mains and the entree was out of stock and in her own words said " We don't have that one, I don't know how to explain why". Her english was just crap. I had the nasi lemak which was just rubbish. Rice was over cooked, curry chicken was watery and tasteless, and I have no idea why there was pickled vegetables on the plate. Dad had the prawn noodle which he only ate half of because it was soo bad. Mum had the wat tan hor which she made no comments on, meaning it must have been really bad. Really disappointing experience. Avoid at all costs.

I have been here 3 times now. Couple of times is for dinner and today went there for lunch. I always order the chicken curry and thats just delish! Will go back here again for lunch as a wee bit expensive during dinner time. Yum yum food!

Both the service and the food that we enjoyed at Nyonya Restaurant today for dinner, was way beyond my expectations! Have no idea why you received some extremely unfair feedback ( I really wanna say mate you go get a life, write such long unfair feedback for a good restaurant like this is not right ), anyway we will be back with more friends, thank you!

We have dined here now on several occasions both as a couple and with Asian friends. We are vegetarians and can highly recommend this part of their menu. We have found the staff to be very helpful and efficient and will be continuing to enjoy their hospitality on a semi-regular basis. The location is a bit hard to find and in a basement but we think this just adds to the charm of the place.

I visited this place a couple of months ago with two other kiwi friends as heard a lot about this place. Being Malaysian myself and originally from Penang where the food haven is located in Malaysia I have credibility to critique about this place. Also my family owns a catering business overseas and having to grow up in the kitchen myself I can tell you the food in this place is nothing but close to disgusting. Very oily food, poor quality ingredients and the worst of all of using msg to enhance the taste, this is not how a truly Malaysian food should be.<br/><br/>As we walked in the place the inside looked like a dungeon, it smelt musky and mouldy, very low ceiling, dirty floors and the table sits far too close to each other.<br/><br/>The first time we walked there at 9.20pm and the it was only four tables with customers, we asked if it's okay for dine in. The young Chinese lady said it is all good. We then had some private conversation and we had some cries (one of us had recently lost someone precious) and need a bit of privacy. We asked if we could get the next table to us away from the customer next to us, both the young Chinese guy said, the big table was reserve only, then we asked another lady, who the table was reserved for, she said no one. My kiwi friend asked the lady if we could move to that table, since they have so many empty tables around, the lady said "only if you can keep the table cloth clean otherwise we have to clean it again" we shocked with this answer, as they are implying that if the table cloth is appeared to be cleaned after each customer they will not be changed. We have serious concern of the hygiene level of this place. <br/><br/>But we respect them and continue to eat. It's worth to mention that the mains came only 35 minutes after. We ordered few meals and none of them tasted good, and we were disappointed, not only the place was a bit of a dodgy restaurant in the dungeon, the service was bad enough, at least they have to make up with food. Because we ordered four or five meals, we continued to eat, then the lady approached us just under 10 minutes after we received our meals, that they are closing the restaurant and that she is bringing the takeaways bag for us. This again was so shocking, if they have informed us earlier that they only serve takeaways then it is fine. But they let us in and take order and knew from the beginning that were for dine in and not takeaways, we feel that we have been tricked in to order and kicked out afterwards.<br/><br/>We then thought there is no point to argue or stay there so we headed to the counter. Two of my friend were trying to talk to the manager and give them the feedback but they just don't care. As soon as stand up from the table, a kitchen lady rushed to our table with a big bucket to empty the left overs etc. We were shocked because they lady who asked us to leave at first place didn't come back with a doggy bag. At the time we thought the food tasted rubbish anyway. But the way we been treated was worst and what we want everyone to know about this restaurant.<br/><br/>My kiwi friend also asked for a manager's phone number so we can give feedback, the young Chinese guy said ' can't have it'. So we decided to pass feedback on their food and how we felt at the time and that they should be more honest next time, if they cant do dine in, or closing soon, to be upfront. Also have concern about the hygiene of the table cloth so asked if they normally change them, the young lady arrogantly said "that's a big table for more people, i told you you can sit there if you keep it clean"(this mean we have to eat very carefully there) my friend also said we are having a difficult night and only wanting a small favour as such asking for a better table so we can have a private conversation. The young Chinese lady again interject and said " if you want privacy, you should stay home" we were so very upset and shocked with this comment as shows they have no sympathy or shows any respect for people even to their customers.<br/><br/>My friend then paid and ask for a GST receipt, the young guy said they can't give and they run out of paper, my friend was disappointed with this, because none of us has ever experience such as this, its like the worst nightmare of a restaurant, the worst you could get from one eating place who pride them self for authentic Malaysian cuisine even though they are not. I don't know how they even get good ratings before or even made it to the Metro list. <br/><br/>I was so embarrassed to take my two kiwi friends to this Malaysian restaurant, really bad reflection of how Malaysian hospitality and food authenticity should be. Or at least, they could have shown some courtesy and respect. The fact that they don't even care about a constructive feedback of hygiene and customer service is really concerning and alarming. I would like all Malaysian food lovers to think twice before going to this place. <br/><br/>The last thing I want to say is, all three of us were food lovers, we ate out almost 6 nights a week, we have been to many restaurants, even to the five star standard, we live in Auckland Central and happy travelling anywhere when we heard about great food and restaurants, we have tasted a good and bad food, great and ok service kind of thing, this by far must be the worst experience ever.<br/><br/>Malaysia is about hospitality and the great experiences. Nyonya Malaysia offered nothing but huge disappointment.

We have dined there at least once a month for the last couple of years. The food is great, heaps of flavour and very authentic. We eat out twice a week at the many different ethnic restaurants in the area and this is the best Malaysian by far.

We've eaten at many of the restaurants in our area and thought we'd try something different.<br/>Unfortunately this was the WORST place we have eaten at in a very long time.<br/>We had very high expectations as the restaurant was full, and we would have overlooked the lack of service if the food was edible, but there was not 1 good thing about the 4 dishes we ate except the jasmine tea (technically a drink). No flavour and no authenticity about any of the dishes, we aren't even sure how they got the metro magazine cuisine of the year award in 2008, or the A+ rating - something bad has gone wrong here.

I have been here more than once and the food is delicious,espescially the plum duck.I have tried a wide variety of dishes here and the food is excellent.The environment and decor of the restaurant is also very appealing.

i love this place``me and my wife went there on sunday``when we walk down` theres a lady waiting for us` the lady ask us how many of you? we reply 2 of us thank you, then the lady took us to a seat, the lady asked us. cold water? or tea? with a big smille..we said tea please. the lady was very nice``<br/>after we older...oh my god.. i have to say the food there is very very very nice...i loved the honey garlic chicken..and the kearubu crispy pork` .its very very nice., we dicied to go back there next sundy`

i have been there few times already, the food is always been fantastic. the service is outstanding and the staff is very friendly. specially on the weekends the restaurant is full and very busy.

We have been to the restaurant a few times now and the food has always been fantastic. The atmosphere is welcoming and the staff are extremely friendly and attentive, always on hand to help you with your menu selection. The surroundings are informal although the menu makes it feel top class. A firm favourite for us now, will definitely be going back many times in the future.

Was very impressed the first time I dined there but there is no consistency as the quality of the food has varied over time. Good selection of desserts and the staff are polite. Only known Malaysian restaurant to serve the equivalent of 'Japanese tofu' which is called Kampung Tofu on their menu. <br/><br/>The Chicken rice is a must have although you have to book well in advance but it is worth it. All in all it is a good if not great Malaysian restaurant.

Malaysia Nyonya is a stalwart in Howick and has served Nyonya cuisine for over 6 years. It is one of the more formal Malaysian restaurants where you can relax and take your time over your meal. There is a fantastic selection of dishes on the menu, which spans not only the Nyonya cuisine but also Malaysian favourites. There are also several special dishes which have to be ordered 24 hours in advance; the golden pillow (see below), Hainanese steamed chicken and herbal duck. I last reviewed this place over a year ago: Malaysia Nyonya review 25 March 2011 and when Malaysia Kitchen Programme asked for a review, I looked forward to coming back and revisiting some favourite dishes. <br/><br/>Nyonya food, for the uninitiated, is the aromatic fusion of Chinese and Malay ingredients, spices and cooking techniques. From the 15th century, Chinese migrants who were mainly young bachelors, settled and married Malay women, creating a whole new culture with its own pathos, food, customs and colourful sartorial style. Nyonya culture is an important part of Malaysian life, and the well-known dishes such as kuih lapis, Kapitan chicken curry, assam laksa and otak-otak, are a part of the Malaysian food scene. <br/><br/>We made a lunch visit. Unfortunately neither the rojak (Malaysian salad with shrimp paste sauce) or the kerabu mango salad were available, but one of my favourites, kuih pie tee made for a great starter. Kuih pie tee, or top hats, are crispy cases encasing savoury sautéed vegetables. These are a well-known Nyonya snack, and a good introduction to the cuisine. Another traditional Malaysian delicacy is ngoh hiang, its crispy deep-fried bean curd ‘skin’ giving way to 5-spice flavoured pork. <br/><br/>I had preordered the golden pillow (with rendang instead of the usual chicken curry). This was the highlight; I loved breaking into the bread shell, and tearing pieces of warm bread to dip into the rich gravy. Although I did recall the beef being more tender previously. <br/><br/>The wat tan hor came in a huge serving, with generous pieces of squid, prawn and chicken nestled among the egg-y gravy, and there was plenty to share. It could have done with more seasoning, but the kids really enjoyed it. <br/><br/>Crispy eggplant in spicy sauce had a good contrast between the crisp slices of eggplant and the savoury mince. I found the deep-fried dishes a touch too oily, so it may pay to make a special request if it bothers you. <br/><br/>There is complimentary fruit for dessert, which is a great way to end the meal. <br/><br/>Malaysia Nyonya is a worthwhile visit if you are in the Eastern Suburbs and you are sure to find many great dishes to delight your taste buds. <br/><br/>http://easyfoodhacks.blogspot.in/2012/12/malaysia-nyonya-restaurant-howick.html